The downfall of an empire begins with internal strife. Dr. Lucio Tan’s empire is no different from the dynasties of Imperial China. Trusted advisers are axed by the emperor as advised by his greed mongering administrators. Lucio is no different from these Emperors. He who foments distrust will fall heavily under those who are after his wealth. Dr. Tan’s feud with brother Mariano Tanenglian has earned him the ire of most of the Filipino-Chinese community. Will he choose the path of righteousness?

Wednesday

Shut Up! Lest Be Censored and Banned... from the Lucio Tan Group of Companies

Do we have to be afraid of Dr. Lucio Tan and his camp of followers and ill-advisers who spill distorted truths and spread rumors? This is what has been posted by Victor Agustin, on Cocktales about the Manila Standard.

Remember those days when you could not avail of the Manila Bulletin on any Philippine Airlines flights right after the Lucio Tan Group took the reigns of the fledging airline?

Now, shall publications and journals bow down to the might and weight of a bully? Or should they speak the truth? In our Philippine Society, and the capitalist market system, it is sad to say that the mighty buck speaks with great stoutness.

Sad to say, will we Filipinos, regardless of race, ethnicity, cultural/religious affiliations and skin color, be buckled down by the ills of past and present Filipino Society?

Sa pera tayo tumutugon! Hindi sa katotohanan! Is there such a thing as Integrity in Philippine Society in general?

To those working for Kapitan and those already threatened by him, we empathize with your plight. We know many have been either demoted or terminated for speaking the truth, or just by lending a hand to protect the Kapitan from his blinded sight and deafened ears. We wish you had another path.

The paper has had to suffer being off-loaded from Philippine Airlines whenever the Lucio Tan-Mariano Tanenglian feud gets splashed on the front page. The Makati Business Club and the Asian Institute of Management could not understand why we, or this corner, could not take their political pronouncements as gospel truths, in the same way that MBC and AIM could not take Malacañang’s pronouncements as gospel truths.

And, notwithstanding the secret delight of the Jesuits, the gays of La Salle have now equated the Manila Standard Today with the apocrypha.